E-books

The Library has an e-preference policy which means that when an e-book is available we buy it in preference to the print copy. The Library provides access to more than 2.2 million e-books via a wide range of online platforms.

Finding e-books

  • Using DiscoverEd
  • Going directly to an e-book collection.

Using DiscoverEd

When you have done a search in DiscoverEd you can use the options on the left-hand menu to refine your results to show e-books.

  • Do your search in DiscoverEd
  • On the menu to the left of your search results (also known as facets) click on the "Full Text Online" link under Show Only.
  • When the search results list has updated then click on the "Books" link under Resource Type.
  • If "Books" doesn't appear on the menu click on 'More Options' under 'Resource Type' to see the full list of resources. Tick the box to Include Books then click the 'Continue' button.
  • Your search results list will update to show available e-books.

If the option 'Books' does not appear under Resource Type this means no books have been found for that particular search.

Some print books may appear if both the print and e-copy are held by the Library.

Browse e-book collections

The Libary maintains a list of the main e-book collections to which we provide access. You must be logged in via your University Login to access e-book collections. Additional access information is provided where necessary.

Access to e-books

The Library acquires an increasing number of e-books each year. The majority of e-books can be read on and off campus, using your University Login.

We obtain e-books from a number of different publishers and suppliers who use a range of delivery platforms which provide differing functionality.

Also, publishers apply varying digital rights management restrictions to their content - for example some do not allow downloading e-books for offline reading, and others limit the number of readers who can access an e-book at the same time (limited concurrency).

You should find that, as a general guide, it is possible to print or save up to one chapter of a book (or 5%, whichever is greater) in line with the copyright law “fair dealing” provison.  Some e-books have more generous provision for printing and saving, and the platform on which the e-book is hosted should indicate the allowances.

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